Law enforcement officers conducted searches in a criminal case involving political parties affiliated to fugitive convict Ilan Shor. The case was started over illegal financing of parties, initiative groups and election contestants in considerable proportions, but also over money laundering committed by an organized criminal group, also in particularly large proportions, IPN reports.
The searches were carried out by officers of the National Investigation Inspectorate in cooperation with the anticorruption prosecutors. According to the Inspectorate, it was established that the recipients of the money are members of the primary local organizations of particular political parties of the country. They were paid monthly from unclear sources that were not reflected in the accounting records, for the activities performed in the context of the upcoming presidential elections including for participation in rallies, flashmob meetings and protests.
“Previously, representatives of parties affiliated to Ilan Shor were opened bank accounts in the commercial bank “Promsvyazbank” of the Russian Federation. This bank is under international sanctions for providing support to the Russian army in the war in Ukraine. Subsequently, for the activity for the benefit of parties and for electoral corruption in the elections, through the “PSB” application, amounts of money in Russian rubles were transferred to their accounts, which were later converted into foreign currency,” reads a press release.
Currently, transfers in rubles are made through various national and international financial platforms, with amounts ranging from 10,000 to 155,000 rubles (equivalent to 1,800 - 27,900 Moldovan lei). Afterward, the activists are paid only half of the amount that was transferred to them through the PSB application, and the rest of the money is kept by the heads of local offices for the assistance provided to withdraw the money.
During the searches, draft documents, mobile phones and other objects relevant to the criminal investigation were seized.
